Vital signs vocab

Vital signs

determinations that provide information about body conditions;include temperature, pulse, respirations, and blood pressure

Temperature

the measure of balance between heat lost and heat produced

by the body

Hypothermia

body temperature below 95° F

Hyperthermia

body temperature above 104°F

Pyrexia

fever

Radial pulse

pulse located on the thumb side of the wrist

Apical pulse

pulse located at the bottom left portion of the heart

Carotid pulse

pulse taken at either side of the two main arteries located on

each side of the neck

Bradycardia

a slow pulse of less than 60 beats per minute

Tachycardia

a fast pulse of over 100 beats per minute

Arrhythmia

irregular or abnormal rhythm, usually referring to the heart

rhythm

Stethoscope

a medical device used to listen to body sounds such as

breathing, heartbeats, and lung and bowel sounds; composed of two earpiece connected by flexible tubing with a diaphragm at its end

Inhalation

breathing in; also called inspiration

Exhalation

breathing out; also called expiration

Tachypnea

rapid, shallow breathing due to the lungs only partially filling

Bradypnea

an unusually slow rate of breathing typically under 12 breaths per

minute

Dyspnea

difficult breathing usually observed as shortness of breath

Stertorous breathing

breathing that sounds like snoring

Apnea

lack of breathing

Pulse oximeter

a medical device usually applied to the fingertip to indirectly measure the amount of oxygen saturation in the blood

Hypoxia

a lack of adequate oxygen

Hypotension

a condition in which blood pressure is too low

Hypertension

a condition in which blood pressure is too high

Systolic pressure

part of a blood pressure reading that is taken when the heart muscle contracts and pushes blood through the artery

Diastolic pressure

part of a blood pressure reading that is taken when the heart

muscle relaxes.

Vital signs

○ Temperature

○ Pulse

○ Respirations

○ Blood Pressure

○ Pain

Temperature

is a measurement of the balance between heat loss and heat

produced by the body.

Hypothermia

is low body temperature below 95°F

Hyperthermia

occurs when body temperature exceeds 104°F

Pyrexia (Fever)

is usually an elevated temperature above 101°F

Radial pulse

thumb side of the wrist and most commonly used

site

Apical pulse

bottom left of the heart

Carotid pulse

on either side of the trachea in the neck

Bradycardia

pulse less than 60 beats per minute

hypoxia

respirations less than 90%

Respirations are measured with a…

pules oximeter

Normal range for Respiration

95-100%

Hypotension

is a blood pressure that is too low.

Hypertension

is a blood pressure that is too high.

Systolic pressure

is when the heart muscle contracts and pushes blood through the arteries (top number)

Diastolic pressure

is when the heart muscle relaxes. (bottom number) Blood pressure is read and documented in mmHg ( millimeters of mercury)

Normal range for Blood Pressure

120/80 mmHg